Harvest Shakeups and the Week Ahead

About this episode

The custom crush winery Legend Napa Valley shuts its doors mid-harvest, Boisset buys Artesa, Jackson Family Wines goes Regenerative Organic Certified, Auro names a new executive chef, and crush 2026 shapes up as one of the earliest in a generation. Plus your weekend picks: Beringer's 150th, Wines Vines and Vinyl at Cakebread, Napa Valley Open Studios, and more.

Chapters

• 0:00 · Welcome to the Napa FYI briefing
• 0:19 · Legend Napa Valley closes mid-harvest
• 1:02 · Gundlach Bundschu files Chapter 11
• 1:25 · Boisset buys Artesa
• 2:10 · Jackson Family Wines goes Regenerative Organic Certified
• 2:36 · Auro names a new executive chef
• 2:58 · Harvest 2026: one of the earliest crushes in a generation
• 3:39 · Crushcamp and Bouchaine's crush party
• 4:09 · This weekend: Beringer's 150th, Cakebread, Open Studios
• 5:06 · Midweek picks: Clif panel, Makers Market, Duff Goldman, Oktoberfest
• 6:12 · Picks of the week and outro

Full transcript

Cole: Alright, welcome to the Napa FYI briefing, your weekly rundown on everything happening in the valley. I'm Cole, she's Claire, and we've got a big one today.

Claire: We really do. Happy Saturday, everybody. Last Saturday of September, harvest is in full swing, and honestly? The valley is buzzing.

Cole: Okay, let's start with the biggest story of the week, and... it's a tough one. Legend Napa Valley, the custom crush winery up in American Canyon, shut its doors right in the middle of harvest.

Claire: Yeah, this one hit hard. So the SF Chronicle reported that winemakers who had fruit fermenting there got a certified letter saying operations were ceasing, effective immediately, because of what they called extraordinary and sustained conditions affecting the wine industry.

Cole: And one winemaker told the Chronicle he got two weeks to get all his wine and his equipment out, with ferments underway and more fruit scheduled to come in. I mean, imagine getting that letter in the middle of crush.

Claire: It's a sign of the times, you know? Over in Sonoma, Gundlach Bundschu filed for Chapter Eleven this week too, citing the same drop in wine consumption.

Cole: Right, same story, falling wine consumption hitting producers big and small. Not the cheeriest way to open the show, but look, this is the news arm. We tell you what's actually happening.

Claire: Fair. Okay, let's flip to something more fun, because Boisset just bought Artesa.

Cole: Oh, this is a big deal. Jean-Charles Boisset picked up the Artesa winery from the Spanish group Raventos Codorniu. Three hundred fifty acres, including one hundred fifty-five acres of vines across Carneros and Mount Veeder.

Claire: And it makes sense for him, right? Artesa started as a sparkling wine house back in nineteen ninety-one, and Boisset says he wants to make sparkling under the Artesa name and his JCB collection, plus build out the still wine program.

Cole: He already owns Buena Vista, Raymond, Flora Springs, so this adds another major Napa property to the collection. Terms weren't disclosed, but the deal closed this week.

Claire: Also this week, Jackson Family Wines announced their Napa estate vineyards are now Regenerative Organic Certified. Six hundred sixty-three acres across Oakville, Rutherford, and Howell Mountain.

Cole: Which apparently makes them the largest ROC producer in the valley, and it roughly doubles the certified vineyard acreage in Napa.

Claire: That fruit goes into Cardinale, Mt. Brave, Freemark Abbey. So if you drink those wines, you're drinking regenerative fruit now.

Cole: And one more people move. Auro, the Michelin-starred restaurant at the Four Seasons in Calistoga, named Evan Neumann executive chef.

Claire: Marquee appointment. Auro has held its star since it opened. Neumann takes over the seven course tasting menu, and the seven hundred fifty label wine program is still run by Derek Stevenson, a James Beard semifinalist this year.

Cole: Okay, harvest. Because we have to talk about harvest.

Claire: We do. This is officially one of the earliest crushes in a generation. Visit Napa Valley put out a piece this week saying the whole season shifted weeks ahead of normal.

Cole: The numbers are wild. Round Pond opened the season July twenty-first with chardonnay for sparkling. Then Chandon called its earliest first pick in fifty-three years, July twenty-fourth, thirty tons of chardonnay picked before dawn.

Claire: Warm March brought bud break early, then a wet spring and cool windy bloom thinned yields in some spots. So, early and lighter in places, but winemakers are calling it a strong vintage.

Cole: Now, if you want to get in on crush before it wraps, The Wine Foundry is running their Crushcamp on Friday, October second, ten AM to one PM. You actually work a crush pad. Tickets from one hundred fifty dollars. That is the real thing, not a tasting room version.

Claire: And then Sunday, October fourth, Bouchaine has their crush party, eleven AM to four PM, two hundred dollars. Bouchaine is a great spot for it, right on the Carneros edge.

Cole: Alright, let's do the weekend. Today, Saturday, is stacked.

Claire: Beringer is celebrating one hundred fifty years. One hundred and fifty. Their anniversary celebration is today, two to four thirty PM at the Rhine House. One hundred thirty dollars a ticket.

Cole: That is genuinely historic. Beringer is the oldest continuously operating winery in Napa, so a one hundred fiftieth only comes around once.

Claire: Tonight at Cakebread, Wines, Vines and Vinyl, six to nine PM. Wine, records... I mean, I'm assuming a very good time. One hundred fifty dollars.

Cole: Also today through tomorrow, the second weekend of Napa Valley Open Studios. Sixty-seven artists, forty-two studios, self-guided, totally free. You walk into working studios and buy straight from the source.

Claire: And if you're in Sonoma today, the Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival is going on at the Plaza, free daytime festival, plus a grand tasting tonight at the Barracks.

Cole: Wednesday, September thirtieth, one I've got my eye on. Clif Family is hosting Sustainable Sips with B Local Bay Area at their Enoteca in St. Helena, five to seven PM.

Claire: This is a panel, right? Winemaker Laura Barrett and Sarah Richmond from Clif, plus Laura Sweitzer from TCHO Chocolate, talking about running mission-driven companies.

Cole: Exactly, moderated by B Local Bay Area. Wine, light bites, a gift for every guest, and it's complimentary with a reservation. Clif does these community events really well.

Claire: Saturday, October third, First Street Napa has the Makers Market, eleven AM to five PM, free. Local artists, good for a stroll downtown.

Cole: And Sunday, October fourth, Duff Goldman is at the Uptown Theatre with The Tao of Duff. Eight PM. The Ace of Cakes guy doing a live show in Napa, that is a fun night.

Claire: Plus Oktoberfest is running at Fieldwork in the Oxbow Public Market through October fourth, if you want beer instead of wine for an afternoon. No judgment.

Cole: A little judgment. Kidding. Mostly.

Claire: So that's your week. Before we go, the one thing worth your week.

Cole: I'm going to say the Open Studios, today and tomorrow. It's free, it's the whole valley, and you meet the actual artists. Sixty-seven of them. In a week full of ticketed wine events, a free self-guided art weekend is the move.

Claire: Solid pick. Mine is the Clif Sustainable Sips panel on Wednesday. Free, interesting people, good wine, and you'll leave knowing something. Details for everything we mentioned are on napa.fyi.

Cole: That's the briefing for this week. We'll be back next Saturday with more.

Claire: See you out there.

Mentioned in this episode